"Benji, would you hurry up already!" Shia tapped her foot impatiently and watched the clock. Today was the day she had to go there. At all costs she had to get that red velvet cake! All day she had been reciting Mariko's words in her head as if they were her life’s mantra.

"We're open for an extra hour on Friday”

"We're open for an extra hour on Friday”

"We're open for an extra hour on Friday”
 

It was drawing close to 5pm now and thanks to Benji's canoodling with his fangirls, Shia was now 20 minutes behind schedule. They would have to run if they had hopes of catching the store before it closed.

"Yeah, I'm coming" He walked with a slow swagger. He indulged in every second of the girl’s impatient staring, enjoying the look of her irritated face "why’re you so determined to go to this particular cafe anyway? There's a tone around"

At that Shia steamed with anger. What did he mean why!?

 

"Because of the red velvet cake!" She knew all too well that Benji would pull a smart response, talking about how she should just go to other cafés or bakery's that were closer to the school they attended. She had already done that though. Every café, bakery, restaurant and bar that served elderflower tea and red velvet cake in this town she had visited and was disappointed by. Part of the reason she moved in the first place was because she heard that the cake they served at one of the café’s in town was heavenly, and Amadeus Diner was the only place she hadn’t been to yet. Before he could speak though, she held up a sassy hand to halt his speech. "That cake has to be ordered in from an anonymous local baker and she only makes one each night! They're special man! And I want them!"

Benji gave a laugh "Of course you do, you little cake monster". He often ridiculed the girl for her height. Not like she was short, it's just that he was very tall. Also he found it funny when she was angry, almost cute sometimes. "It's that cafe on sixth right?" He clarified earning a nod and a sigh.

 

Of course he knew it was the cafe on sixth.

 

Shia never stopped taking about the cafe on sixth. The cafe on sixth was about 20 minutes away if you ran none stop. The cafe on sixth made the best herbal tea. The cafe on sixth had a cool, short guy with strange eyes working there. The cafe on sixth was so popular that the food there always sold out by the Shia got there. And he couldn't let that happen. He told himself that the reason was because he wanted to try some cake as well, but really he didn’t like sweet food too much.

 

He walked beside her for a while, giving ear to the details of “why each cake is unique” and how “Amadeus Diner just has this exciting aura within it”, responding with a smile or a “oh really?” every so often to keep the conversation going. After a while, it got to a point when Shia began to run low on energy from all the talking and her pace dropped. Benji looked back with a frown.

 

“You good?” He asked when she took a seat at one of the bus shelters, breathing heavily. “Do you need your inhaler or something?”

 

Shia waved a dismissive hand “I’m fine.” She spoke airily as she looked at him “Go on without me, I’ll catch up” She nodded to herself and gestured him to keep on going, knowing that if they didn’t keep going the store would once again be closed and she would be without cake.

 

“Right I’ll go in a minute” He said, taking out an unopened bottle of water from his bag and handing it to her “But I’d feel kinda bad if I hear on the news that you passed out on the concrete and went missing suddenly” He laughed at his own, grim humour.

 

“Benjamin, look me in the eyes” Despite the wheezing, Shia’s voice was serious and her eyes burned with determination. She grabbed onto Benji’s arms and pulled him to eye level “Promise me that you’ll buy me a slice of that cake!”

 

He shook his head “But you’re-“

 

“Forget about me!” She yelled dramatically causing the rest of the civilians on the street to turn and look at them. Benji rubbed his neck with an awkward laugh, glaring at Shia to control her inner thespian. “Just get me that cake….”

 

“Alright drama llama, I’m going. “ He pretended to salute, keeping up the façade before laughing and heading to the store. As dramatic as she was being, he knew that she wouldn’t be able to buy the cake she was craving even if she ran due to her short legs. He also knew that if she didn’t get it, all hell would break loose in class come Monday. The boy was fortunate to be born with long legs, and so was able to make it to the store in a few minutes with barely any trouble.

 

"Excuse me" He walked into the cafe with a charming smile, asking Mariko about Shia's urgent query whilst she caught up. He looked at the long haired woman behind the counter and noted her elegant aura. He ran a hand through his hair and added “do you have any red velvet cake left?"

"Yes we do" she smiled and took a glance into the display case for the cakes. She frowned. The glass table that was always reserved for the dahlia desert was empty. “We should have a few slices in the back. Give me a moment.”

 

 

 

By this time, Shia had managed to recover from her lack of breath and dragged herself across town to the Amadeus Café. She grinned widely as she made her way to the café and raised her hand to open the glass door. Surely today would be the day she would try that culinary delight known as red velvet cake!

 

Or at least it would’ve been if she wasn’t that curious.

 

An unsettling rattling noise was coming from the back alleys which lead to the apartment complex of the city. It was uneven in its rhythm and almost panicked. One by one, Shia placed her steps carefully and quietly so as not to alert whoever or whatever was in the ill lit walkway. The girl made her way down the narrow path and come across a rattling bin. Peculiarly, it had been knocked over and holes had been drilled in the side.

 

“Aliens aren’t real…government experiments don’t happen…” She repeated to herself trying to keep brave as she knelt beside the can and pried off the tightly sealed lid. To her surprise it was a small, panicked husky that had somehow been trapped in the trash can. “Hey little buddy…let’s get you out” She spoke softly, coaxing the creature from its confines and holding it in her arms.

 

Poor creature was thin as a stick with patchy fur, obviously hadn’t eaten properly in a while…The yellow collar around its neck was still fairly tight so she assumed it hadn’t been away long. The puppy chewed at her hands lightly causing her to laugh.

 

“Let’s get you something to eat then.” She gave the puppy a smile as she remembered that she had some fruit in her backpack left over from lunch. She set the puppy down in front of her and pulled out a small green lunch tub “I hope you like….strawberries?” She paused as she noted that the puppy that was once in front of her had now disappeared. It couldn’t have gone too far could it?

 

“Puppy...? Man I wish it had a name...” She thought aloud as she frantically looked around her. Faintly on the ground she noticed some water paw prints, the canine must have walked through a puddle somewhere. After repacking her bag, she leapt into action, trailing the paw prints like a spy movie to an open door. The opening exuded a light sweet smell like that of cookie dough.

 

 

Of course, the creature was starving, why it would not follow the smell of food. The next thing that gave it away was clanging and the sound of falling utensils

 

Shia rolled her eyes as she bolted into the door which lead to a small kitchen, its dimensions no bigger the 5 metres any way. It was plain and simple, with a lino floor, baby blue and white tiles, and a small centre island containing the various teas and kettles. Small spaces meant less places to hide in, Shia knew this from her many years of training in the ancient art of hide and seek.

 

The faster she could find that troublesome pup the better…

 

 

“I’ll be right back” Mariko raised a suspicious eyebrow as she left the customer she was serving and went backwards into the kitchen. There had been some rather unsettling noises coming from within….with each step she took, the owner weighed out the potential options. It couldn’t be any of the waitresses because they were out serving tea to the customers. Perhaps it was Hansol; he was on tea duty today.  No, it couldn’t be him either; he had gone for his break around thirty minutes ago. That only left one option.

 

Thieves.

 

It wouldn’t be surprising. There had been reports of thieves going around the village and it wasn’t odd for the late night cookie shipments to “go undelivered” every once in a while. This time, Mariko would catch the burglar; with her own hands.

 

Her eyes widened in shock as she laid eyes on the chaos that had taken over the kitchen. Bags of flour were exploded on the floor and onto the cupboards, tea bags were totally shredded and saucers lay strewn across the floor. And at the centre of the whole mess was a silver haired girl who was equally as caked in the litter. Mariko growled angrily catching her attention.

 

“Hi! Uh….this isn’t what it looks like!” She explained as she hid the dog within her backpack, and turned to face the irritated store owner

 

Mariko squinted cynically “You’re the darned thief who keeps stealing our produce!” She cursed

 

“I’m telling you ma’am, that’s not what this is at all” Shia spoke slowly and calmly, trying to compose herself “If you give me a minute to explain-”

 

“You don’t need to explain a thing. I’m calling the police” The determination in the owner’s voice was absolute. There was nothing that Shia could do to convince her, no matter how the student begged and pleaded, nothing could be said or done to stop the justice hungry manager.

 

 Or so she thought

 

At that moment, a mousy haired barista walked through the door. He took out his headphones and scanned his grey eyes over the destruction that was once a kitchen. His eyes widened in shock but his face remained placid, how was he to make his after break brew in this mess!?

 

“Hansol, good thing you’re here.” Mariko took his wrist and dragged him over to the dismayed school girl “Watch her until the police arrive, okay?”

 

“Police?” Hansol questioned, still a little confused about the current situation

 

“Yes, the police” Mariko clarified as she plugged the three key digits into her phone pad. “This girl has been stealing produce”

 

Hansol looked her up and down. He recognised her with little trouble, her dyed hair made light of that task. He then noticed the dirt was only her arms and feet, and the strange rustling that came from her backpack. Hansol looked the girl in the eyes, staring for a while before looking back at Mariko. “You have the wrong culprit Miss Mariko” He said causing Mariko to frown in confusion. Hansol glanced to the girl who was still looking down and continued “I saw her run in after a stray; it must have been looking for something to eat”

 

Now, Mariko knew of Hansol’s kind nature, she also knew that he wasn’t the sort to tell lies. He was an honest boy with a keen eye for detail, so she took his word for it. She sighed before glaring “Alright, so it wasn’t you. But you’re still going to have to clean this mess since you were running around in here.” She looked over to her treasured employee “Make sure she doesn’t take anything.”

 

Hansol gave a nod of understanding as Mariko went out to serve Benji. He walked over to the girl and handed her a hairband quietly.

 

“I’ll hang your bag in the staff room” He extended his hands for it, causing Shia to clutch at the straps defensively “Don’t worry about him, I’ll check on him between servings to make sure the pup isn’t causing any trouble. I’ll leave him some water too” He gave a ginger smile as he took the bag into the staff room and made a den by staking up some delivery boxes. He placed the puppy inside and went back to work.

 

Shia, on the other hand, tied up her hair. Whilst she was disappointed at the fact that instead of eating cake she was cleaning the kitchen, she was also very curious about the kind boy that stopped her from having a criminal record….

 

She quickly texted Benji to tell him she couldn’t make it to the café (even though she was technically there already) and set to work, ensuring every spot was sparkling clean.

 

 

 

 

It took several hours to get the place to standard but by closing time, Shia was done. She washed her hands and heaved a sigh. “Compensatory cleaning…that wasn’t in the schedule for today” She joked to herself as she stretched.

 

Her thoughts were interrupted by a light tap on her shoulder “Nice work.” Hansol commented as he glanced around with a smile and handed her bag back “That’s one less job for me to do tonight”

 

“Thanks…” She slung the bag over her shoulder “Oh! What about-“

 

“The dog?” He finished her sentence and walked into the staff room “He was pretty tired out when he got here so I wrapped him up “He handed her a desert box with some holes poked in the side. Within the cake box was some unused napkins and tissue paper to keep the puppy warm.

 

“Thanks” A small grin came onto Shia’s face as she admired the creativity behind the dog’s bed. “Question; why didn’t you tell-“

 

“Tell Miss Mariko that you had the stray in your bag?”  Was this kid a telepath or something? Shia frowned, a little confused as to how he kept finishing her sentences “you hid it as soon as she came in, figured you wanted to keep it.” Hansol put his hands in his pocket and shrugged. “You do right?”

 

“Well…yeah” He was right. It was almost scary how accurate he was with these guesses…Shia walked out to the exit of the kitchen and let her hair down “Thanks again bro, I knew you were special”

 

“It’s Hansol” You weren’t really supposed to give your name to customers, but she had been cleaning for the past few hours. The girl was as good as employed already. She had a pretty face too, that’d attract customers.

 

“Shia” She introduced herself informally, giving a sunny smile

 

He handed her a piece of paper “Write your number on it” he added as he gave her a pen

 

She laughed “Hold up, I’m not that kinda girl Hansol”

 

“Oh I know” He continued casually “I just thought I’d text you when we get some red velvet in next. Save your legs y'know, your school is pretty far from here”

 

Shia’s face lit up “You had me at red velvet” She beamed before jotting her name, number and even email address “You better not forget about this. I will be coming for that cake” She threatened lightly as she back out of the door causing Hansol to laugh, his round cheeks were rosy in the sunset

 

“Of course, I never break a promise.  Go safely” He bid her farewell before closing the door and starting on his evening duties once as per usual.

 

The afternoon had been eventful, more so than usual but that wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, both parties wished it would stay that way.